The College of Environmental Design was established during the 1400 Ė
1401 (1980-1981) academic year to meet the large demand for
professionals in the construction industry, resulting from the extensive
construction program in progress throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The College was planned in order to bring together the academic programs
that are mainly concerned with the built environment, both the natural
and man-made aspects of this environment, and to prepare students for
professional practice in Architecture, Architectural Engineering,
Construction Engineering and Management and City Planning. The College
has four departments: Architecture, Architectural Engineering,
Construction Engineering, and Management and City and Regional Planning,
and offers Bachelorís degrees in Architectural Architecture and
Engineering, and Masterís degrees in Architectural Engineering,
Construction Engineering, and Management and City and Regional Planning.

The educational philosophy of the College of Environmental Design, as
its name suggests, is to develop interdisciplinary relations between the
professionals who share a common concern for the design of the built
environment. In recognition of this commonality, the college has been
organized as one unit with shared common facilities and resources. The
realization of this philosophy comes by allowing students, whatever
their chosen specialty, to share common knowledge and common classroom
expertise via shared instructors, expertise, and specialization. Each
undergraduate program requires five years of study, with the first year
providing preparatory English and Mathematics.